Sunday's NFL: Broncos cut former first-rounder Paxton Lynch

Englewood, Colo. — John Elway cut ties with his biggest draft bust Sunday when he waived quarterback Paxton Lynch less than 24 hours after including him on the Denver Broncos’ 53-man roster.

In another move, the Broncos placed safety Su’a Cravens on IR with an injured left knee and re-signed Isaiah McKenzie, the speedy returner/receiver who was among the team’s cuts a day earlier.

Lynch was jettisoned after the Broncos were awarded fellow third-year quarterback Kevin Hogan off waivers from Washington.

Elway said he and coach Vance Joseph “met with Paxton this morning and informed him that it’s best for everyone to make this move. We appreciate all of Paxton’s hard work as a Bronco, and we wish him well in the future.”

Elway once viewed the athletic but raw Lynch as a future franchise quarterback, moving up in the 2016 NFL draft to select the University of Memphis star with the 26th overall pick in the first round.

That move came in the shadows of Denver’s Super Bowl 50 win and shortly after Peyton Manning’s retirement and Brock Osweiler’s departure.

Elway acknowledged at the time that Lynch was a project who needed some seasoning but he expressed hope that Lynch might be a quick study.

When Case Keenum was signed in March, Elway sent Siemian to the Minnesota Vikings, clearing the way for Lynch to serve as the No. 2 quarterback. All he had to do was fend off Chad Kelly, another seventh-rounder.

He couldn’t.

Kelly had a terrific offseason while Lynch regressed this summer before completing 14 of 15 passes against third-stringers in the Broncos’ fourth preseason game last week at Arizona.

Lynch made the team as the third quarterback, but Elway indicated his survival on cutdown day was more a function of Kelly’s inexperience after spending his rookie season on IR last year.

“With Chad not having a lot of experience and not having played in a regular season game before, we thought that we had to go with three quarterbacks,” Elway said, “and Paxton was our third.”

Less than 24 hours later, Elway found a better option.

Hogan and Lynch were both part of the 2016 draft class.

Lynch was the third QB selected overall, after Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. Hogan was the 14th QB taken, by Kansas City with the 162nd overall pick in the fifth round, after setting several records at Stanford, including most career wins by a QB (36) and most rushing yards by a QB (1,249).

Both have made spot appearances in the NFL.

Lynch has played in five games with four starts, going 1-3 with four TDs and four interceptions.

In eight games, including one start, for the Cleveland Browns over the last two seasons, Hogan threw for four TDs with seven interceptions. He also has rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown in 18 attempts, a 9.8-yard average.

He was traded to Washington on April 6 and was waived by the Redskins on Saturday.

Elway and Joseph had held out hope that Lynch was just a late-bloomer , continuing to express their belief in him even as fans had soured on him.

After bypassing the deep quarterback class in this year’s draft, Elway said he still thought Lynch could be a starting NFL quarterback, insisting, “We are not kicking him to the curb.”

That thinking changed Sunday.

Cravens will miss at least half the season now that he’s on IR. He missed most of training camp and the first three preseason games with soreness in his left knee, the same one he had surgery on last year to repair a torn meniscus while he was with Washington.

The Broncos acquired him in a trade this spring.

Gates back for 16th

Tight end Antonio Gates (Detroit/Eastern Michigan) re-signed with the Los Angeles Chargers for his 16th season.

Four months after the Chargers publicly bade farewell to the leading receiver in franchise history, they welcomed him back one week before the start of the regular season with a one-year deal.

Wentz update

Carson Wentz still hasn’t been medically cleared for contact, though Eagles coach Doug Pederson won’t rule out the quarterback for the season opener against Atlanta on Thursday night.

Pederson again told reporters that he doesn’t want to publicly reveal whether Wentz or Nick Foles would be the starter when the defending Super Bowl champions host the Falcons.

Wentz is returning from surgery last December to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee. Foles was the Super Bowl MVP in Philadelphia’s 41-33 win over New England. Wentz didn’t play in the preseason.

Surplus Miami QBs

The Dolphins now have four quarterbacks on the roster, and they still have a battle for the backup job behind Ryan Tannehill.

Coach Adam Gase declined to say whether Brock Osweiler or David Fales would be first off the bench to replace Tannehill, but said he expects to keep all three all season. Even so, the Dolphins found room on their roster to add rookie quarterback Luke Falk, claimed one day after being waived by the Tennessee Titans.

Falk, a sixth-round draft pick, could make an immediate impact by providing insight into the Titans’ playbook under a new coaching staff. The Dolphins open the season against Tennessee on Sept. 9.

Personnel dept.

In a surprising move, the Giants released backup quarterback Davis Webb. That leaves inexperienced Kyle Lauletta and Alex Tanney behind Eli Manning who, of course, never has missed a game because of injury in his career.

... Defensive linemen Carl Nassib and Jamie Meder were among five players released by the Browns. A 2016 third-round pick, Nassib had a memorable appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this summer when he offered financial advice to teammates with some colorful language.

... The Panthers placed Matt Kalil on injured reserve because of a knee injury, meaning the team’s starting left tackle will miss at least eight games.